Periodisation Models

There has been a lot of harping on about daily undulating periodisation (DUP) recently. It has been toted as the ultimate training solution for making gains in strength and muscle hypertrophy. It is also spoken about as if it is mutually exclusive from other kinds of periodisation. Simply put, that just isn't true. DUP is a periodisation model and it can be implemented with effect but it isn't the holy grail and it isn't necessarily exclusive from other models.

Periodisation - what it is

Periodisation is how training is put together. It is organised in three ways:

Microcycle - this is typically one week of training or thereabouts.

Mesocycle - this is usually around 2 - 8 weeks in duration, though it is not a strict rule. It consists of multiple microcycles.

Macrocycle - this is the big picture plan usually in preparation for a competitive event of some kind. It consists of multiple mesocycles. It could be 6 months, 1 year, 4 years etc.

What kinds of periodisation are there?

Linear - Starts with low intensity, high volume and works up to high intensity, low volume. Generally volume and intensity are the variables which are periodised but other variables can be periodised as well.

Non Linear - This includes undulating periodisation and conjugate periodisation. Typically volume and/or intensity are changed daily or weekly.

Block - Block periodisation involves organising training into blocks which each have a focus on a goal. For example a training block may focus primarily on developing strength with higher relative loads.

Periodisation is not mutually exclusive

The idea that these types of periodisation are separate from each other is incorrect and I think poorly understood. Rather each type of periodisation contains components of the others.

Firstly all training is essentially linear periodisation because it contains linear progression. The nature of weight training is progressive. If you add volume in the form of more weight, an extra rep or an extra set then you made a linear progression in volume and/or intensity. So even if you are training with what you think is a DUP set up, you will ultimately have a linear element to your training. In reality you'll have undulation of training variables occurring daily and linearity occurring weekly (or however often progression happens to occur).

If you're training with a frequency of 2 times per week or more per muscle group then chances are you have undulation occurring to some degree in your program. For example if you do bicep curls with 4 sets of 8 on Monday and then you do bicep curls with 3 sets of 15 on Thursday then you just did DUP. You undulated the volume and intensity via changing the sets, reps and load over a period of days.

You can have a block of training which is largely focused on strength which also has elements of undulation and linearity. Allow me to illustrate with an example:

Lets say the macrocycle is 8 weeks, with 3 weeks of training, 1 week of deload, 3 weeks of training and 1 week of deload/testing. You perform two lifts each day of: squat, bench, deadlift, OHP 4 days per week at varying numbers of sets, reps and percentage of 1 RM. You also do some accessory work - one week you do 3 sets of 12, the next week you do 3 sets of 10, the third week you do 3 sets of 8 prior to deloading during the fourth week and starting again the next week.

This is set up as a block where the primary lifts and the associated loads, sets and reps have a trend toward developing strength. It has a block periodisation element to it. You have your reps, sets and load for the primary lifts undulating from workout to workout (a daily undulating periodisation element). The secondary work is set up with load (intensity) increasing and volume (reps) decreasing week to week as would typically occur in linear periodisation. And of course we are trying to get stronger from the start of the block to the end of the block (another linear element).

As you can see there are endless ways to organise training and periodisation doesn't fit into the neat little package of  specifically "DUP" or "linear periodisation". Rather periodisation models are going to contain elements applied over periods of time. If you see someone trying to sell you a DUP program, remember it's because it's a popular buzzword right now and not because it's exclusive or superior to any other way of organising training.

That's a wrap for this week. Have any feedback? Leave a comment below or on social media. As always you can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

Deadlifting for back development?

This entry is going to address deadlifts and whether they should be used as an exercise to develop the back.

Defining the "back"

The Upper Back Musculature

Firstly let's talk about the upper back. In the upper back we have a variety of muscles but for the purposes of this blog I will address the major ones which are the latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboid major/minor and trapezius. I'm about to get a little anatomy heavy so brace yourselves.

Latissimus Dorsi

Attachments: iliac crest of pelvis, thoracolumbar fascia, lower three to four ribs, inferior angle of the scapula, humerus. What this means is it attaches to the pelvis, a bunch of stuff in the middle including the spine (indirectly), ribs, shoulder blade and finally attaches to the upper arm bone.

Actions: shoulder joint extension, shoulder joint adduction, shoulder joint internal rotation. In other words it brings the arm back to the side from the front and the side and it rotates the arm inwards.

Teres Major

Attachments: posterior surface of scapula near the inferior angle, humerus (bottom of back of shoulder blade to the upper arm bone)

Actions: shoulder joint extension, shoulder joint adduction, shoulder joint internal rotation. These are similar actions to the latissimus dorsi.

Rhomboid Major/Minor

Rhomboid Major Attachments:  spinous processes of T2 - T5, medial border of scapula
Rhomboid Minor Attachments: spinous processes of C7 and T1, medial border of scapula
(this means it attaches to the thoracic spine and the shoulder blade on the same side)

Actions: scapula retraction (it pulls the shoulder blades backwards).

Trapezius

Attachments: occipital bone, ligamentum nuchae, spinous processes of C7 - T12, lateral third of clavicle, acromion process and spine of scapula. In other words the trapezius muscle attaches to the skull, a ligament that runs down the back of the neck, the full length of the thoracic spine and attaches onto the collar bone and shoulder blade on each side of the body.

Actions: scapula retraction, scapula depression, shoulder girdle elevation, cervical extension, cervical lateral flexion. Translation - it does a few things because it has different sections. It pulls the shoulder blades backwards, downwards, lifts the shoulder blades and attached structures up and bends the neck backwards and to the side.

The Lower Back Musculature

When discussing the lower back muscles I firstly want to note that there are a whole bunch of muscles which have functions in this area. There are muscles that extend the trunk, that laterally flex the trunk, that rotate the trunk and that flex the trunk. There are also muscles that can increase intra-abdominal pressure and others that produce inspiration and expiration (breathing). For the purpose of this discussion I'm going to cover only the muscles which produce extension of the lower back. These muscles are quadratus lumborum, multifidus, erector spinae and interspinales.

Quadratus Lumborum

Attachments: iliac crest, iliolumbar ligament, lumbar transverse processes, twelfth rib. More or less it attaches to the pelvis and up top to the twelth rib with some attachments in between to the lumbar spine.

Actions: lumbar spine lateral flexion, lumbar spine extension. This means it bends the trunk to the side and, when both sides contract, to the rear.

Multifidus

Attachments: sacrum, lumbar vertebrae mamillary processes, thoracic vertebrae transverse processes, lower cervical vertebrae articular processes, spines of all vertebrae from L5 to the axis in the cervical spine. This is a deep muscle clearly with extensive attachments from the sacrum at the base of the spine all the way up the spine to the top of the neck. It has several layers which span between one and three levels of vertebrae at a time.

Actions: rotation, lateral flexion and extension of the spine. Basically this muscle rotates, bends to the side and bends the spine to the rear.

Erector Spinae (iliocostalis, longissimus, spinalis ie there are three sections of erector spinae)

Base Attachments: T11 - L5 spinous processes, median sacral crest, iliac crest. For the non anatomically inclined this means the muscle group attaches at the bottom to the lumbar spine, sacrum and pelvis. The erector spinae then splits into three columns as described below.

Iliocostalis Attachments: ribs 1 - 12, C4 - C7 transverse processes (the attachments of this section of erector spinae span from the base attachments to the ribs to the middle of the neck).

Longissimus Attachments: lumbar transverse processes to T1 - T12 transverse processes and lower 10 ribs. T1 - T6 transverse processes to C2 - C6 transverse processes. T1 - T5 transverse processes and C4 - C7 articular processes to mastoid process. (the attachments of this section are extensive and run from the lumbar spine to the thoracic spine and ribs and into the neck).

Spinalis Attachments: T1 - T6 spinous processes (the attachments of this erector spinae section are from the lumbar spine to the thoracic spine).

Actions: lumbar, thoracic and cervical extension, trunk lateral flexion, trunk lateral rotation. That is, this muscle group bends the spine to the rear, to the side and rotates it to the same side.

Interspinales

Attachments:  in between spinous processes mainly in the cervical and lumbar spine ie in between vertebrae in the neck and lower back.

Actions: cervical and lumbar extension. In other words, this muscle helps to bend the neck and the lower back to the rear.

Now that covers the anatomy of the upper and lower back muscles in detail. Apologies if you got lost in the terminology. I did try to include some layman's descriptions for each part to keep everyone on track. For the most part the muscles of the upper back move the shoulder joint and shoulder blades around and the muscles that I described in the lower back and spine move the spine in a few different directions. As well as producing movement, they can also all control or prevent movement in the opposite direction. For example the erector spinae group can control or prevent lumbar flexion (bending forward of the trunk). All this is important for what we are going to discuss regarding deadlifts.

The Deadlift - a basic description

The deadlift is a hip dominant movement. Whether you are pulling conventional or sumo stance you're always going to start in knee flexion, hip flexion (hips and knees bent), with an ideally neutral lumbar spine. During the concentric phase of the movement the hips and knees will extend (straighten) simultaneously until both full knee and hip extension are reached. The motion is reversed for the eccentric phase. Throughout the motion the lumbar spine should remain in neutral. If the lifter cannot get into a neutral spine position to begin with that is ok but the lumbar spine should remain in that position throughout the lift. It should not move further into flexion or further into extension (bend further forwards or backwards) for injury prevention reasons.
 
What are the major movers in a deadlift?

The two major movements that occur in a deadlift are hip extension and knee extension. The muscles which extend the hip are gluteus maximus and the hamstrings (semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris). The muscle which extends the knee joint is quadriceps femoris. I don't think it's necessary to go over their anatomy for the purposes of this discussion, so long as we understand what muscles they are and what they do.

As an added note - as you can see from the previous discussion of the upper and lower back anatomy, the lumbar extensors and the upper back muscles I have mentioned do not cross the hip joint. As such they aren't involved in extending the hips (the primary motion of the deadlift).

The role of the upper and lower back musculature in a deadlift

So if the muscles that are doing the actual moving in a deadlift are the hip and knee extensors as described above then what are the muscles in the upper and lower back doing? The simple answer is they are contracting isometrically to prevent movement and stabilise joints in certain areas.

When we are setting up a deadlift one of the things we do is pack our lats and retract our shoulder blades. The muscles that are achieving this are the latissimus dorsi/teres major (shoulder extension) and the rhomboids/trapezius (scapula retraction). These muscles then help to hold this position by way of isometric contraction throughout the lift.The rhomboids and trapezius are of course holding the shoulder blades in place and the latissmus dorsi because of it's multiple attachments (shoulder, scapula, ribs, spine, pelvis) serves as a stabiliser of the trunk locking it's position down.

The lower back muscles I described earlier (quadratus lumborum, multifidus, erector spinae, interspinales) are also contracting isometrically. However the movement they are primarily resisting is trunk flexion. That is, they are stopping the bar from pulling our back into a bent position whilst our hip and knee extensors do the moving part.

So the upper and lower back muscles are actually playing a very important role here. They are resisting unwanted motion in the trunk and stabilising joints for optimal position. These muscles are all working hard when we deadlift but they are secondary to the lift in that they are stabilisers working isometrically. They don't (or shouldn't) produce any significant movement during the lift.

Alberto Nunez sumo deadlifting. As you can see his back is doing a lot of work (video included below)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BASZ1rpCZNX/?taken-by=nunez3dmj

So do deadlifts develop your back?

Yes deadlifts will develop the muscles of both your upper and lower back. But you need to keep in mind that their role in the lift is secondary. Their contraction is isometric and they aren't moving any joints through a range of motion. So whilst they do contract and they will hypertrophy, doing a deadlift is not the most efficient means of developing these muscles. The most efficient way to develop these muscles is to perform exercises which take the involved joints through a full or close to full range of motion (see below):

Latissimus dorsi and Teres major: Pull ups, pull downs, rows, pull overs

Rhomboids and Trapezius: Rows, shrugs

Lumbar Extensors: Back extension variations on the floor or on equipment

These are better options if your goal is specifically hypertrophy of the upper and lower back musculature. Which is of course not to say deadlifts are not valuable, they are still going to be a contributor to hypertrophy of these muscles just not in the sense that a prime mover contributes.

Including deadlifts to develop the hip and knee extensors as well as some added hypertrophy benefits for the upper and lower back muscles is a good idea. Attempting to use deadlifts as the primary means to develop the muscles of your back isn't the best idea. This would be akin to doing squats with the purpose of developing your lumbar extensor muscles (the lumbar extensors play a similar isometric role, preventing lumbar flexion during a squat). And of course the primary reason to squat is to develop the lower limb muscles, not the lower back.

Summary

- the role of the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and quadriceps is to extend the hips and knees, producing movement during the deadlift.
- the role of the upper and lower back muscles described in this article is to isometrically stabilise joints and resist movement of the trunk in undesirable directions during the deadlift.
- deadlifting will produce hypertrophy primarily of the gluteus maximus, hamstrings and quadriceps and secondarily of the latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids, trapezius and lumbar extensor group.
- deadlifting used as the primary means of developing the latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids, trapezius and lumbar extensor group is unwise.
- instead incorporate deadlifts for their hypertrophy benefits but include exercises that target the muscle groups that move joints through their range of motion eg pull downs, rows, back extensions etc.

Thank you for reading, that's all for this week. If you have something to add to the discussion please do so in the comment section or on social media. As always you can contact me via the details provided below if you want to speak to me about my coaching services.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan

Genetics vs Hard Work - Which is more important?

When it comes to competitive bodybuilding we all know that genetics plays a big role. This post has come about because I've noticed people say at times that bodybuilding is a genetics show. That is, the role of genetics in bodybuilding is over dramatised at times. And of course on the other side of the fence  you have the camp of people who thinks that with hard work alone they will be able to build a champion level physique. I'm going to discuss this and let you know why I think neither is true.

What does "genetics" mean?

When we are talking about bodybuilding, genetics refers to the traits you inherited from your parents that determine the structure and function of your body. This can mean:

- bone structure
- muscle attachments
- muscle belly shape
- potential for muscle size
- muscle symmetry
- weak and strong points
- metabolism and ability to lose fat
- fat storage distribution
- vascularity

These are some examples and I'm sure there are certainly more. It is possible (and common) to be blessed with one gift but not another. For example you may have a lot of potential when it comes to muscle size but you may have a hard time losing body fat. The more genetic blessings that you have, the easier it is going to be for you to do well as a bodybuilder.

Starting Off

Now that we've discussed what genetics mean lets talk about the genetics of novice bodybuilders. People who are just starting to lift weights might think that because they start off skinny, or fat, or they don't gain muscle at an astounding rate that they have poor genetics. The thing is most everyone that is just starting to lift weights is going to look like they have poor genetics unless they have an athletic background in which case they may have already developed some muscle mass. So when you are just starting you really don't know yet whether or not you have good genetics. You need to put years of training in to develop your physique before you will know whether you have good genetics or average genetics.

Things that may give you a hint towards certain genetic qualities being present are if you've always been able to eat a lot of food but have remained slim (fast metabolism), bone structure eg wide clavicles, big rib cage, small hips, small joints etc and if you notice things early on as you develop from weight training eg muscle shape, rapid size developments for particular muscles or muscle mass in general. But if you don't have any obvious qualities to begin with don't fret. That doesn't necessarily mean you don't have good genetics because there are a lot of genetic qualities and like I said before you generally need years of training under your belt until this stuff becomes apparent.

At 15 years old before starting weight training, but with some martial arts and body weight training. Not exactly what you would call "good genetics" at first glance.

Your genetics are fixed

That's the thing about genetics, you are stuck with them for life and you can't do anything about them. If you've hit the genetic lottery then you are lucky and if you've been training solidly for ten years and you still look like Steve Urkel then I don't know what to tell you, that's the way it is. Since we can't do anything about what we were dealt, the best thing is to not worry about it and instead just focus on self development. We might not all be able to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger but we can improve ourselves and get better over time. The ability to always improve is under our control and that is an encouraging thought.

Is it all hard work?

There are definitely people who think that you can always just outwork others. And this may actually be true in some things, but not in bodybuilding. That isn't to down play the role or the value of working hard towards goals. Hard work will actually get you far even if you have genetics that are average, but having said that it will only get you so far. There are some things that you can never outwork such as muscle belly shape, bone structure and muscle attachments because those things are entirely genetically determined. However there are actually areas in bodybuilding where you may be able to outwork the competition eg conditioning (fat loss), muscle size (to some degree) and also to some degree muscle symmetry and proportion. We have at least some level of control over all of these qualities. This is good news because while there are some things we can't do anything about, there are clearly things we definitely can do something about in order to improve our physiques.

Is it all genetics?

As I mentioned previously, I have heard some people refer to bodybuilding as a genetics competition. While genetics definitely does play a big role in what a physique can look like I feel that referring to it in this way really diminishes the effects of nutrition, training and time and I don't think that is fair or accurate.

Nutrition - Nutrition has a permissive effect on muscle hypertrophy ie if you are eating enough food you are going to allow muscle growth to occur providing there is a sufficient training stimulus. A good nutrition structure will be consistent, be sound in terms of micro and macro nutrients and be quantified calorically in a fashion appropriate to one's goals. In the big picture if nutrition is planned well for a bodybuilder then probably 80% + of his/her time will be spent in a caloric surplus to allow for muscle growth to occur. If this kind of structure is put in place over time then it sets a very good back drop for potential muscle growth and physique development.

Training - Training is the primary stimulus for hypertrophy ie you may have perfect nutrition but if you aren't training with weights then you don't have much telling your muscles to grow. There are many ways to structure resistance training, some more sound than others. Good programming for bodybuilders is usually periodised in one fashion or another with a training frequency of twice/week upwards for each muscle group and volume and intensity adjusted accordingly. Consistent and well structured training (both in the short term and the big picture plan) can certainly make a big difference to physique development.

Time - Here I am really referring to training age. If you've been training without too many set backs for a long time then chances are you will have a well developed physique. That's usually how it works. And in this case I'm talking about real training where you actually try to improve over time, rather than just training where you show up and tick the box for training that day. Training age where progressive overload has been applied definitely will affect how one's physique looks.

These three things that are under your control - nutrition, training and time spent training, have real, measurable effects on physique development. The little things add up over time. So no, it's not all genetics when it comes to bodybuilding.

My Experience

Novice Years

In my case I could definitely tell that I had decent genetics after six months of training. This wasn't exactly in a competitive sense because I never even considered competition until about seven years into training. But what I did notice was that my strong body parts (my arms) did grow rapidly in that window and for the most part I grew more than the average gym goer. Having said this I'd say I also spent more time training and trained harder than the average gym goer (at least in regards to those immediately around me). The rest of my physique other than my arms developed a bit slower and I'd say at this time was fairly average.

Nutrition: Three balanced meals/day and a few snacks. Tried to include protein in each meal. No tracking of macros or calories.
Training: 5 days per week, body part split
Cardio: Martial arts 4 - 6 days per week

Lol at this pic, not the best one but it does show roughly what my physique looked like at one to two years into training

Intermediate Years

About four or five years into training I'd developed a pretty decent physique. Still full of both genetic and training related weak points but decent nonetheless by non competitive standards. That is at this point I'd put a lot of hours into my training and I'd look around the gym and realise that I had a physique better than the majority of gym goers around me. The exclusions would be competitive bodybuilders and some steroid users.

Nutrition: Three to four balanced meals/day. More emphasis on getting enough protein and food to grow. No tracking of macros or calories.
Training: 5 days per week, body part split. Transitioned at one point (due to time) to a body part split over 8 days (no rest days) ie Day 1 - Biceps, Day 2 - Triceps, Day 3 - Shoulders, Day 4 - Rear delts/Traps, Day 5 - Quads, Day 6 - Hamstrings/Calves, Day 7 - Chest, Day 8 - Back
Cardio: Martial arts 3 - 4 days per week

 Again not the best photo but it gives an idea of what my physique looked like after about five years of training

 Advanced Years

At around seven years into training I'd frequently get comments from gym members who would suggest I should compete in bodybuilding. I'd tell them no I wasn't interested in that though eventually I of course did compete. But now having put seven years of consistent training in and starting to look at my diet more closely I really was starting to look like I had a place on stage and might even be able to do pretty well.

Nutrition: Four balanced meals/day. More emphasis on consuming enough protein, food and consuming typical "bodybuilder" foods. Roughly aware of protein intake.
Training: 6 days per week, body part split (legs twice per week)
Cardio: Martial arts 1 - 3 days per week

Just over six months into competing and the first overall I won at the WNBF Sydney Titles

Pro Years

Now a full fourteen years into my training I've turned pro, won my first pro show and placed in the top five at the pro world championships. I am no stranger to steroid accusations despite being a natural bodybuilder. My physique has developed a lot in the last seven years due to the time I have put in, my consistency and also the knowledge I have gained and applied in this time in regards to training and nutrition.

Nutrition: Tracking macros and calories from 2011 onwards.
Training: From 2012 onwards trained all body parts a minimum of twice/week, utilising a variety of rep ranges and incorporating structure deloads. Have used a variety of periodisation models to this point.
Cardio: Martial arts 1 - 2 days per week

At the 2014 WNBF World Championships

I hope this serves as more than just a "cool story". What I have tried to describe is how my physique has evolved over time. I think people tend to see the end result now and think "well he's just got great genetics". This may be true, I do have good genetics, but it took a hell of a lot of hard work, consistency, learning and time to develop what I was born with into something substantial. All the details that I've paid attention to over a long period of time have added up turning a pretty good physique into a pro standard physique. These factors can't be down played because had I approached things in a different way, a way that yields less results, then I wouldn't be where I am now physique wise. I hope that in another five to ten years I can look back and say I have developed further again.

Thank you for reading, that's all for this entry. Have something to contribute? Let me know in the comments below or on social media.

Muscle Academy contact details:

Email - info@muscleacademy.com.au
Website - http://www.muscleacademy.com.au
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MuscleAcademy
Instagram and Twitter - @evansoooon

- Evan